Explained: Why fruits are so expensive in India
Fruit prices in India shot up by 13.2% from January to September 2025—the sharpest rise in five years—while vegetable prices actually dropped by nearly 11%.
This helped bring overall retail inflation down to 2.7%.
The big gap comes down to weather: veggies benefited from good harvests, but fruits faced supply issues that imports couldn't fully solve.
Floods and heavy rains affect fruit production
Heavy rains and floods in major banana states like Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, and Maharashtra damaged crops, sending banana prices up 8.1% (compared to 6.1% last year).
Apples got pricier too, with a 12.2% jump after floods in Jammu & Kashmir and Himachal Pradesh.
Some farmers in Bihar even switched from bananas to maize, making fruit supplies even tighter.
Fruits only make up about 4% of what people eat
Fruits only make up about 4% of what people eat each month in India—but with prices so high, everyone's feeling the pinch at checkout.
Meanwhile, cheaper veggies and pulses are giving wallets a bit of a break.
It's a reminder of how unpredictable weather can shake up what we pay for food.